Math 120

Math for General Education
Syllabus

Instructor: Cary Lee, Ph.D.
Office: 70-211  (Inside Tech Mall, click here for location)                      
Telephone: 619 - 644 - 7894
e-mail: cary.lee@gcccd.edu  
Office Hours: M,W  9:00 - 9:50am,   T,Th  1:00 - 2:00pm
                              
website:    http://www.grossmont.edu/people/cary-lee

 

Required Materials:  

Crossing the River with Dogs, Problem Solving for College Students (2nd Edition) by Ken Johnson, Ted Herr, Judy Kysh   A calculating device such as abacus, slide rule, log table, electronic calculator, computer etc. A notebook and ruler.

 

Course Objectives: To train the mind to be analytical and provide a foundation for intelligent and precise thinking.
The goal is to:

• become problem solvers who can recognize and solve routine problems readily and can find ways to reach a solution when no routine path is apparent.
• communicate precisely about quantities, logical relationships, and unknown values with through the use of signs, symbols, models, graphs and mathematical terms.
• reason mathematically by gathering data, analyzing evidence, and build arguments to support or refute hypotheses.
• make connection among mathematical ideas and between mathematics and other disciplines.

Math 120 Student Learning Outcomes                                                      

• A student will be able to employ both inductive and deductive reasoning appropriately.
• A student will be able to construct visual representations of certain problems and then analyze those constructs to attain a solution.
• A student will be able to identify patterns in observations presented in a problem and then predict other outcomes using the patterns they identified.
• A student will be able to employ logic in solving a problem to arrive at a conclusion.
• A student will be able to categorize given problems and then employ the correct procedures to solve the problems.

Grade: The possible grades in this course are A, B, C, D, or F. The cutoffs are as follow,

 

                                                         A ........ 90-100%
                                                         B ........ 80-89%
                                                         C ........ 70-79%
                                                         D ........ 60-69%
                                                         F ......... 00-59%

 

Grades are assigned on an absolute scale, and your work will not be graded on a curve. You get what you earn, and other people's performances have no effect on your grade.    

 

California Education Code Section 76224(a) states:

"When grades are given for any course of instruction taught in a community college district, the grade given to each student shall be the grade determined by the instructor of the course and the determination of the student's grade by the instructor, in the absence of mistake, fraud, bad faith, or incompetence, shall be final" (2004)

 

Assignments:      

7 quizzes                          213
Homework (8 sets)    160
Final exam                       150
 ___________________________
 Total                                   523
  

                     Homework will be assigned everyday but will be collected only
                     on the day of the quiz and before the quiz begins. It must be written
                     on the original packet provided by the instructor.
                     Late homework will be penalized (4 points per lecture day)
                     and quizzes cannot be made up unless arrangement is made with  
                     the instructor prior to the quiz.
                     In case of an emergence, you have to 
                     (1) inform the instructor within 24 hours counting from the 
                           beginning of the exam and
                     (2) provide proof of valid reason(s), otherwise heavy penalty 
                           will apply
                     Each student can have at most 1 make-ups in each semester.
                     Partial credit is at the discretion of the instructor.

                     No extra credit.

 

Attendance: 

Attendance is mandatory and is vital to the success in this course. You are an important person to your group and hence you may be dropped from the class if you miss more than 3 meetings. Tardiness and early departure will be penalized according to the following pattern.

 

1 to 9 minutes :   no penalty
10 to 14 minutes:  -1 point
15 to 19 minutes:  -2 points
20 to 24 minutes: -3 points
etc.

 

Class Rules:

    1. Be honest
    2. Respect your classmates and instructor
    3. No phone conversation or message texting in class.

 

Expectations of Students:

1. Bring a notebook, pen or pencil, calculator and textbook to each class.
2. Come to class with a positive attitude and be ready to learn.
3. Take notes in each lecture.
4. Actively participate in class but do not disrupt lectures with private conversation.
   Respect other students’ opinion and be open to accept different ideas as well as perspectives.
5. Spend about 2 hours after each lecture to read textbook, organize lecture notes,
   and do homework.
6. Write your answers neatly in the provided homework packet. It is the student’s
   responsibility to keep all graded assignments. Contact the instructor immediately if you
   notice any assignment missing.
7. Turn off your cell phone and pager (or change it to the flashing or vibrating mode) during lectures.
8. If you decide to drop the class, it is your responsibility to complete the paper work otherwise
   you may receive an F even if you do not attend classes anymore.
9. If you expect a reply to your phone message, please say your phone number clearly and slowly.

Special accommodations:

Students with disabilities who may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to notify the instructor and contact Accessibility Resource Center (A.R.C.) early in the semester so that reasonable accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible. Students may contact A.R.C. in person in Room 110 or by telephone at (619) 644-7112 or (619)644-7119 (TTY for deaf).

 

Supervised Tutoring Referral

1. Students requiring additional help or resources to achieve the stated learning objectives of the courses taken in a Mathematics course are referred to enroll in Math 198, Supervised Tutoring.  The department will provide Add Codes.
    

2. Students are referred to enroll in the following supervised tutoring courses if the service indicated will assist them in achieving or reinforcing the learning objectives of this course:
    

• IDS 198, Supervised Tutoring to receive tutoring in general computer applications in the Tech Mall;
• English 198W, Supervised Tutoring for assistance in the English Writing Center (70-119); and/or
• IDS 198T, Supervised Tutoring to receive one-on-one tutoring in academic subjects in the Tutoring Center (70-229).

          To add any of these courses, students may obtain Add Codes at the
          Information/Registration Desk in the Tech Mall.

3. All Supervised Tutoring courses are non-credit/non-fee. However, when a student registers for a supervised tutoring course, and has no other classes,  the student  will be charged the usual health fee.

 

Academic Integrity
Cheating and plagiarism (using as one’s own ideas, writings or materials of someone else without acknowledgement or permission) can result in any one of a variety of sanctions. Such penalties may range from an adjusted grade on the particular exam, paper, project, or assignment to a failing grade in the course. The instructor may also summarily suspend the student for the class meeting when the infraction occurs, as well as the following class meeting. For further clarification and information on these issues, please consult with your instructor or contact the office of the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.

 

Daily Schedule:
Click on the appropriate section number on the top of this page to view the schedule.